Downtown Walking Tour of Hidalgo Street

We begin our walk along the northern edge of the Alameda Park, in front of a sunken plaza surrounded by the Franz Mayer Museum, the Print Museum and the San Juan de Dios and Santa Veracruz Churches. After visiting each of these buildings, we will continue along Hidalgo Street, pausing at the Hotel de Cortes, and the San Diego Church (which was the site of the stakes of the Holy Inquisition), retracing Hernan Cortes’s escape route on the Sorrowful or Sad Night, which marked the first major defeat of the Spaniards in their quest to conquer the Mexica empire. Then, we will head over to the San Fernando Church and Museum-Cemetery for Distinguished Citizens, where many liberal figures involved in Mexico’s Reform Movement are laid to rest, including President Benito Juarez, giving us a glimpse into the complex and often circumvented history of Mexico’s 19th century.

This unusual, out-of-the-way route reexamines one of the most important, yet often forgotten historic zones of downtown. This walk takes about 3 hours.